The present invention relates generally to a system for customizing on-line service content and content presentation for individual computer users. Particularly, the present invention is a computer system that analyzes a computer user's on-line behavior to develop displays with content and display characteristics and elements tailored to the user's preferences and needs. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, users shop in an on-line environment customized to meet their particular needs and preferences.
To many people, the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) represent a disorganized space. Many computer users wander from site to site hoping to find content that is of interest. Many uninteresting sites may be visited before a site with information of interest is located. Even sites related to one another by a common theme (e.g., shopping) may be difficult to navigate because so many of the sites do not have content that is of interest to the user.
One of the reasons that the task of navigating the Internet, specifically the WWW portion of the Internet, seems daunting is that there is no way to pull content from various locations or sites and organize it in a manner meaningful to the individual user. While some sites may be devoted to the task of organizing information from a variety of locations, the arrangement or organization is static and hence the same for all users. The needs and references of individual users are not taken into account so the content is displayed similarly for all users. There is no flexibility in determining content or in determining the presentation of the content.
The lack of flexibility in organizing content and presentation of content may extend across sites devoted to a particular theme. For example, on-line shopping environments today may allow computer users to purchase products and services from a variety of merchants, vendors, and manufacturers each of which may maintain an on-line site for computer users to visit. Despite the availability of products and services, users may have difficulty finding products of interest because the information is not presented in a meaningful way. The convenience of on-line shopping is impeded by a lack of flexibility in tailoring the experience to an individual's needs and preferences.
Electronic shopping allows computer users to purchase products and services without leaving their homes or offices. To computer users, on-line shopping may be viewed as a trip to a virtual store that offers many different products and services. These products and services are offered by a number of merchants, vendors, and manufacturers (collectively, merchants.) Typically, communications between shoppers and merchants are facilitated by an on-line information service that manages and maintains the electronic shopping system. Merchants decide what products and services they will offer and how they will be presented to shoppers within the constraints imposed by the electronic shopping system. Shoppers are provided with access software so they may connect to the network through which the electronic shopping services are offered.
Typically, shoppers browse the selections offered by the participating merchants. For example, shoppers may have the option of shopping by department so they may look at all products in a particular area. Shoppers may also have the option of specifying criteria regarding the type of product they would like to find such as the manufacturer, product features, or a price range. A host computer then searches for products that match the specified selection criteria. In addition, current electronic shopping systems allow shoppers to take advantage of promotions and offers made by the participating merchants.
In many instances, on-line shopping is conducted using a menu-driven rather than a graphics-based system. Shoppers find specific items or services by responding to a series of choices presented by the electronic shopping system. At the beginning of the shopping trip, each choice represents a broad category of products or services. The selection of one menu item results in the display of another menu that presents additional choices related to the previous selection. Eventually, by stepping through the levels of menus, shoppers may arrive at the desired site or location to browse or they may locate the desired product.
Alternatively, shoppers may search directly for the items or services they want. The ability to search allows shoppers to locate the items quickly, but it also means shoppers must know what they want. Direct searching presents limited browsing opportunities because shoppers may by-pass the menu structure and the search engine used by the system may not retrieve related items of interest.
Although menu-based shopping systems help shoppers to locate the products and services they desire, they limit the amount of control shoppers have over the environment and the experience. Typically, the menu items that are displayed are the same for all shoppers. Shoppers may be required to traverse through a number of menus that contain items of little interest before reaching the desired menu. Furthermore, shoppers spend most of their time reviewing text which may be of limited value in helping the shopper to navigate or learn about a particular product or service. In general, the shopping environment is not tailored to suit individual shopper preferences. Even if the environment may be tailored, generally only menu items are varied. The rest of the display usually remains the same for all shoppers. Furthermore, menu items may be varied only for specific stores rather than for the entire shopping trip. Finally, because menu-based systems are text-based, they generally make little use of graphics and color.
The inability to customize the shopping environment and related opportunities unnecessarily burdens both shoppers and merchants. Shoppers may be inconvenienced because they have difficulty locating the products and services they want or because they must traverse or navigate through screens and displays that are of little interest before reaching the desired location. Merchants are also burdened by the approach because they may lose customers who are unable to locate their products or services or because shoppers never have an opportunity to discover or learn about the merchant's products and services. Furthermore, even if shoppers are able to locate the merchant's product or service, they may leave the site without making a purchase because the merchant is unable to present the product or service in a manner that the individual shoppers find attractive and pleasing.
The present invention recognizes that the marketing and purchasing of products and services is actually integrated. Shoppers who find on-line shopping to be a pleasant experience and who are able to locate what they want or need quickly and easily may be more likely to make purchases. The present invention meets the needs and preferences of individual shoppers because it allows the shopping environment and experience to be customized or tailored for each shopper.
The present invention is a sophisticated electronic system that monitors and records an on-line user's navigation choices, content preferences, shopping purchases, etc. The present invention combines this knowledge of the user's on-line behavior with known information about the user's age, gender, and other personal details to arrive at an electronic profile of the user. The electronic system then causes the user's environment and related options to be customized based on the monitored preferences. The system uses the recorded user profile data to select specific information retrieval opportunities and modify displays for the user. Users benefit because the system responds to the individual's needs and preferences. Merchants and other content providers benefit because the users who are directed toward their products or services have already expressed an interest in the offerings and are more likely to find the display for the offerings to be attractive.
The lack of flexibility in determining content and in determining the presentation of content is general to on-line information services. In general, content and presentation of content are not tailored to individuals' needs and preferences even when users are navigating through sites related by a common theme such as investing money, weather information, or recent political events. Therefore, the system and method of the present invention may be applied to a number of areas, such as those listed above, in which the tailoring of content and presentation of content to an individual user will enhance an on-line service user's experience. The present invention may be used to analyze users' behavior generally while navigating an on-line service in order to tailor content and presentation of content to each user's specific interests. The advantages of the present invention are explained further by the accompanying drawings and detail description.